Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Gunsmithing What Products to Strip Browning High Gloss Finish?

The top 2 rifles are made from Sugar maple. The way I do the finish is as follows.

Sand and whisker as you would on any rifle. Take the finish down to 400 or 600 grit depending on the density of the wood.

Next I stain. ALWAYS use alcohol base stand, NEVER oil based.

When the stain is completely dry I use 0000 steel wool to even out the surface.

Now the "secret"

Take boiled linseed oil and paint thinner and make a solution of both 50%/50%. Put that on the stained wood until it dripping wet and keep it dripping wet for 30 minutes. As it soaks in, put on more. You want this to penetrate the wood deeply. It will soak in so keep it as wet as you can. After 30 minutes take paper towels and dry it off.

Now set it in the window for 4-6 days in sunlight. Do nothing but turn it every day.

After it's cured you inspect it closely. Any small imperfection in the surface will show up clearly. Take the same 50%/50% mix and wet sand (with wet-or-dry paper) the imperfections out. Because you use alcohol based stain you can match the color after the wet sanding. Go over the stock and make sure it's all as perfect as you can make ti. When you are done re-stain the whole stock.

Up until this point everything you have done is for color, surface finish and detail. NOW comes the real finish.

I use Formbys or Gilispies Low Gloss Tung Oil.

Put it on thinly and let it cure 2 days between coats. After 2 days do it again. Use 0000 Steel Wool if you need to blend any of the coats. Keep doing that every two days and only use the steel wool every other coat, and then only if you see a need.

You just keep finishing the wood until there is nothing left to even out or coat. The stock will tell you when it's done.

Sometimes it takes 5-6 coats and sometimes it take 10-12 coats. Depends on the stock. You'll know when it done because you will not be able to find anything else to do.

The reason for the linseed base is that if ever you need to touch up the finish you can sand down to wood and re-apply the stain and get a color match through linseed.
If you put Tung directly on the stained wood the finish looks great but you will hate life if you ever try to make a color match through it because once Tung is cured no stain will go through it and give a color match.

THAT'S the reason for the linseed base coat.

I think szihn needs to make a video of him scraping a Browning epoxy finsih high gloss stock in 5 minutes. I hope a donor stock shows up from one of the local gun shops he has spoken with.

I cannot imagine a five minute scrap happening with the result being something you would want to own when it was done.

Agreed!
I am not put off by a skeptic. In fact I welcome them. If I try and fail, I'll fail in front of the camera. My offer to do the vid is still standing. I have to borrow the stock and also the camera and the man to shoot the vid, but I am hopeful I can do exactly that. The offer is already out there, and it's posted here. How long it will take to get this done I don't know, as I have not found a doner yet. My friend with the camera has already agreed however.

And renagade50, I would advise against calling him a cock.
That word is reserved for a male bird or something manly.

Being a man is not a function of having a penis. Heck, 50% of all dogs and rats have those, and they will never be men.

Being a man implies integrity and virtue.

I have not and probably will never meet him. As I said he's nothing but worthless words on a screen. But if I read those words it causes me (and a lot of others apparently) to doubt his integrity and virtue.

A man would give me a challenge as stantdm and a few other have. One made in openness and without insult.

The male in question here has no more to do in his life than to sit in front of a screen over (29,969 posts??!!??)
and try to irritate people, but he's not to be taken seriously.

That kind of tactic work well with dealing with children at about 4th grad level, but I have been out of grade school for a very long time. Let him play in the sand box by himself.

As for the skeptics, well I think I can be friends with them. They are acting like men and I will accept their challenge.
As men, if and when I prove my point I am sure I will get posts thanking me for the vid. Men do that kind of thing.
If I fail I will do so publicly and I will admit it.